The craftsman is often called upon to measure items that have dimensions far exceeding his reach. Therefore, the art contains many devices, such as retractable tape measures, which are adaptable to use with long items. Still further, in order to facilitate use by one person, many of these tape measures include means for attaching one end of a tape to a support. Such attaching means range from a simple hook to magnets or the like.
While these device are somewhat successful in permitting a user to measure long items, they have certain drawbacks which prevent them from being useful in a wide variety of situations.
For example, the devices known to the inventor are not amenable to being attached to the item being measured firmly and securely enough to ensure that the device will not move as the tape is being withdrawn. Still further, these devices are not amenable to being attached to a wide variety of items, each of which may have a different set of constraints affecting the mode and means of attaching the measuring device thereto. Thus, even those measuring devices having some form of attaching means, such as those devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,663,941 and 3,036,791, have limited usefulness which inhibits the full commercial acceptance thereof.
Accordingly, there is a need for a tape measure device that can be used for a wide variety of applications, and can be amenable to being mounted on a wide variety of different surfaces and items.